Tag: Ryan Bader (Page 1 of 3)

UFC 132 Recap & Review – Too Much To Cover

July 3, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null Well, where do I begin?

UFC 132 took place last night and was one of the most entertaining PPV’s I have seen in quite some time.

There were so many storylines that emerged from the event, but I guess I will have to start with the main event.

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber put on quite a show, proving that bantamweights can headline a PPV. In the end, Cruz won a close unanimous decision that had Faber crushed and Cruz looking very joyous and relieved (AP Photograph).

I personally felt Cruz won 48-47 based on scoring rounds, but I don’t feel like the fight had a true winner or loser. I didn’t think Faber did enough to warrant winning the title, but I think he should be considered for an immediate rematch.

Faber’s quickness did nullify some of Cruz’ movement, but Cruz still seemed to dictate the pace and style of the fight. The ground scrambles were really impressive from both men and that essentially made the fight a standup battle, where Cruz landed a lot more strikes.

In the co-main event, Chris Leben defeated Wanderlei Silva by KO in just 27 seconds. Coming in, many thought Tito Ortiz would be fighting his last fight, but it may have been Silva that did, as he suffers another big time KO and is just 2-6 in his last eight fights.

Events, Fighters, News, Results, UFC

Carlos Condit Chris Leben Dennis Siver Dominick Cruz Dong Hyun Kim Matt Wiman Melvin Guillard Ryan Bader Shane Roller Tito Ortiz UFC 132 Urijah Faber Wanderlei Silva

UFC 132 Picks & Predictions

July 2, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC 132 takes place Saturday night from Las Vegas with a stacked card.

The main card features five exciting bouts and here are my picks for the contest.

UFC Bantamweight Championship – Dominick Cruz (17-1) vs. Urijah Faber (25-4) – In this rematch I see Cruz winning by unanimous decision. His movement and wrestling will be too much for Faber to deal with. Cruz is a much different fighter than the one that met Faber before and I expect his footwork to pose problems for Faber and his explosive takedowns will be too much for Faber to stuff.

Middleweight Bout – Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) vs. Chris Leben (21-7) – In this battle of strikers, I like Silva as I think his striking is a little more diverse. I think Silva’s chin is a little weaker, but I expect Silva to land the big punch first. Leben has a big heart, but he has struggled against strikers in the past. Look for Silva to win by second round TKO.

Light Heavyweight Bout – Tito Ortiz (16-8-1) vs. Ryan Bader (12-1) – This should be Ortiz’ final bout with the UFC as I see Bader winning by decision. I think the fight should be competitive, but Bader’s athleticism and combination of wrestling and striking should be too much for Ortiz, who will have to score takedowns in order to win.

Welterweight Bout – Carlos Condit (26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1) – This should be a very close fight, but I like Kim to remain unbeaten. His size and strength should be too much for Condit. I see Kim putting his weight on Condit against the fence and then scoring some judo throws and takedowns to control Condit. Look for Kim to win by decision.

Lightweight Bout – Dennis Siver (18-7) vs. Matt Wiman (13-5) – Siver is a short, compact striker that is hard to get to the ground because of his low center of gravity. I see Wiman struggling to get the fight to the ground, and that will allow Siver to out-point Wiman with his striking. My pick is Siver by decision.

Events, Fighters, Predictions, UFC

Carlos Condit Chris Leben Dennis Siver Dominick Cruz Dong Hyun Kim Matt Wiman Ryan Bader Tito Ortiz UFC 132 Urijah Faber Wanderlei Silva

UFC 132 Preview: Ryan Bader vs. Tito Ortiz

June 30, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Will this be the swan song for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”?

One of the first superstars of MMA was Tito Ortiz, but on Saturday, he can be facing his last appearance in the octagon if he is unable to beat, or maybe just compete, against Ryan Bader.

Bader was one win away from perhaps fighting for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship, but he was dominated by current champ, Jon Jones.

Here is a breakdown of both fighters heading into this contest.

Tito Ortiz (15-8-1) – Ortiz is 0-4-1 in his last five fights and he hasn’t picked up a victory since 2006. Ortiz is a strong wrestler, but he has never quite evolved in his striking and many of the top light heavyweights have been able to match his wrestling ability. His last loss saw him taken down by Matt Hamill, and Ryan Bader appears to be a more explosive wrestler than Hamill.

Ryan Bader (12-1) – Bader ran through the UFC until facing Jones, but he picked up some solid wins along the way. Bader has used a mixture of takedowns and big hooks to beat his opponents. While he isn’t a great technical striker, he has some good power. He is able to fake takedowns and follow up with a big overhand hook because his opponents are too busy preparing for the shot. Bader is very athletic and can push a good pace for a 15-minute fight. Bader did struggle with the wrestling of Jon Jones, and Ortiz does have some good explosiveness in his takedown attempts.

Who Will Win – Ortiz is skilled, but he just doesn’t have what it takes to beat today’s superior MMA fighters. Bader is a better version of what Ortiz was in his prime. I see Bader being able to stuff Ortiz’ takedown attempts and Bader being able to get Ortiz down a few times each round. I also see Bader getting the best of the striking exchanges in this fight. Look for Bader to win by decision.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Jon Jones Ryan Bader Tito Ortiz UFC 132

Your weekly MMA TV schedule update

June 27, 2011 / Drew Ellis

A Sunday UFC event threw off our weekly TV update, so here it is on Monday night.

This week, the TV focus is solely on UFC 132, as the premiere MMA organization puts on a pretty strong card on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

– On Wednesday, the Countdown to UFC 132 premiers on SpikeTV at 1:12 p.m. ET. The UFC lists the time, which seems like an odd time to begin a show. The show will go in depth about the key bouts of UFC 132. It will re-air on SpikeTV on Thursday at 11 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. It will also re-air on Versus on Thursday at 7 p.m.

– Prior to the UFC PPV on Saturday, SpikeTV will air UFC 132 Prelims Live at 8 p.m. The two free prelims on SpikeTV are expected to be a pair of lightweight showdowns as Melvin Guillard faces off with Shane Roller and George Sotiropoulos takes on Rafael Dos Anjos.

– At 9 p.m. ET, UFC 132 airs live on PPV. The main event of the card features a bantamweight championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. In the co-main event, strikers Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva meet in a middleweight clash. Light Heavyweights Tito Ortiz and Ryan Bader will also face off in a featured bout.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Chris Leben Dominick Cruz Ryan Bader Tito Ortiz UFC 132 Urijah Faber Wanderlei Silva

Early UFC 132 Betting Odds: Cruz Favored over Faber

June 27, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC 132 takes place this Saturday night from Las Vegas and our friends at BetOnFighting.com have released their odds for six of the bouts on the card.

In the main event, UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz is a slight favorite to beat challenger Urijah Faber. Cruz has odds of -130 while Faber has a money line of +100.

Faber is the only blemish on Cruz’ record, but Cruz is a much different fighter now and Faber has somewhat underwhelmed in his short time at bantamweight.

In the co-main event, Wanderlei Silva (-185) is favored to beat Chris Leben (+155) in what should be a slugfest in the middleweight division. Both men are standup fighters that like to trade punches. You would expect someone to get KO’d in this one.

Silva has the more impressive wins list, but his chin is not nearly as strong as it once was. Leben isn’t a great technical striker, but when he hits you, it does a lot of damage.

In what could be Tito Ortiz’ final bout with the UFC, he is a heavy underdog (+365) in his contest with wrestling standout Ryan Bader (-465).

Bader has just one loss in his career, to current champion Jon Jones. Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since beating Ken Shamrock in October of 2006. He hasn’t beaten anyone currently relevant since he beat Forrest Griffin in a close decision in April of 2006.

Check out all the current odds for UFC 132 after the jump.